I just gave Molly a coconut oil beak massage because it was looking dry. She enjoyed it (closed her eyes and relaxed on her back in my hand), but now she is trying to lick the top of her beak, which is pretty hilarious. I guess she likes the taste.

I offered the macaw some of the coconut oil on his beak and he raced out at me, wings out, in fighting form. What a Mr. Grumpy Pants today. Usually he likes having his beak and face rubbed.

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 1:14 pm

Dr Bronners, MD

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 5:20 pmPosts: 4687Location: Edinburgh

There's a shop in the Old Town area (near uni) called Piemaker (they mostly make hand pies). They have a few vegan pies, including 4 or 5 sweet pies (all labeled). Well, as I was walking home, I noticed that there was a big sign in the window of one of the unused shops saying that Piemaker was coming to that location! I'm super excited for this. I almost never go to Piemaker because I'm rarely in that part of town and in need of food. The new location is 5 minutes' walk from my flat. And considering that we're down near the shore and therefore surrounded by seafood restaurants, I'm very happy that we'll soon have another vegan option close by.

In other news, I picked Zebby up again, and he did that thing where he put his paws over my shoulder. Then he rubbed his wee face against my cheek. It was super sweet.

_________________A pie eating contest is a battle with no losers. - amandabear

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 2:04 pm

Emotionally Allergic to Dairy

Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2010 11:28 pmPosts: 3354Location: San Francisco

Ooh, I will try serrated!

I am on day three of dieting (no special diet, just "stop eating all that extraneous food that you REALLY don't need but are eating anyways just for the hell of it/stop eating after you are already full please jesus woman") and I am about ready to start eating my damn desk. We are doing standardized testing this week and I went next door to cover for the teacher next to me so he could take a break. The class that he is testing with is his section that gives him the most difficulty, and between not really wanting to stop doing some work in my classroom and being hangry, I was so not taking their shiitake. In about five minutes, I had them shut up and working, I confiscated an entire box of phones, got a bunch of awed noises, and several students whispered, "I hope I don't have her next year!" (they are ninth graders and I teach tenth). Hearing that is so GRATIFYING. Because when the kids don't relish the idea of having you as a teacher, in a twisted way, you know you're doing something right. The troublemaker kids always want the teachers who won't let them get away with things. They thought I was a hardass! That is all I have wanted in my career. I want to be that hardass teacher that MAKES her hooligan kids work and who is hated while students are in her class but then loved later in life. That is what I want. I feel like I took an important step in that direction today. I can make this my reality!

_________________Your heart is a muscle the size of a fistKeep loving, keep fighting

What do you do with confiscated cell phones? In training we were told that if a confiscated phone is lost or stolen, we are financially responsible. If I could confiscate phones, some kids might do something.

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

I have a parent conference at 3:30 tomorrow, which means I can't go home. If I don't leave early enough on Fridays, I just won't get home. Leaving at 4 or later means I would sit in traffic a minimum of 4 hours. If this parent doesn't show up, I will not be responsible for my actions. (I'm my experience, the more inconvenient or more necessary the appt, the odds of a no show increase exponentially, to the point that I've never had a parent show up to a nonstandard conference time. Ever.)

Not happy, but trying to find something I can do. No point getting on 95 until after 7-7:30.

I need something that doesn't involve spending money, so no movie, eating, and I can't physically walk around anywhere. Too hot to sit in my car, and they'll boot us out of school at 5 or so. (May is mothers day, state taxes, and my moms birthday, so even $10 to get dinner isn't a good idea)

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 2:25 pm

Nailed to the V

Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2012 1:58 pmPosts: 565Location: pdx

Bring a book! (or some bookS!) In my training at work, we discussed taking kids' phones away.. and this guy I really respect said he was a principal for over 20 years and he would never take a student's property. He said it's always better to somehow get them to put it away.

_________________You know what would probably be a more effective ritual? Telling the person who you want to shut up, "You better not talk or we'll pound you." -Footface

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 2:29 pm

Emotionally Allergic to Dairy

Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2010 11:28 pmPosts: 3354Location: San Francisco

Confiscating phones is a common practice at my school. Technology that shouldn't be being used and illegal things (drugs, weapons, etc) are the only things the school will take away from students, and I've found it's the only thing that works. Just letting them put it away means that they will keep peeking into their pockets, or going into their bags, or whatever. Confiscating, however, puts the fear of god in them. The first few times, I keep it to the end of the class period. After that, it's to the end of the school day. After that, it's overnight. If we don't feel comfortable keeping phones overnight in our classrooms, the assistant principals will take them--but they keep them to the end of the school week! And I have warned kids of that.

I put them in a locking drawer in my desk. However, the school has made it very clear that students are responsible for their property, and if it gets taken away from them by a teacher, that is the student's fault for having had it out, and therefore, anything that happens to the device is not the responsibility of the teacher.

That said, although many have us have joked about smashing cell phones, none of us would actually damage any student property, and we ARE very careful to take good care of the confiscated items and keep them safe.

_________________Your heart is a muscle the size of a fistKeep loving, keep fighting

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 2:32 pm

Drinks Wild Tofurkey

Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2010 1:04 amPosts: 2969Location: UK

Where I work students are not allowed to have their phones in school. If their parents insist ("in case of emergency"), they have to hand them into the school office at the start of the day and collect them at the end. If they do get their phone out in school, it's confiscated and kept for seven days (in the school safe). If they refuse to hand the phone over, they get an automatic one-day internal exclusion, which goes on their record. A lot of schools in our part of the UK have the same policy.

_________________Everyone turns into Boo Radley, if they live long enough ~ seitanicversesThere are as many ways to live as there are humans in the world ~ SchwaGrrrl

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 2:32 pm

Emotionally Allergic to Dairy

Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2010 11:28 pmPosts: 3354Location: San Francisco

I have thought about getting a big box to put confiscated tech in that I will label "Ms. P's Spring Break Vacation Fund"

As for your parent meeting--a book is a good idea! There is probably a library where you can go? Or a mall food court? You don't have to buy anything to sit in the food court! It's not ideal, but people watching can also be fun anyways. Probably $2 for a coffee so you can sit and read/grade/etc in a Starbucks is too much too, right?

_________________Your heart is a muscle the size of a fistKeep loving, keep fighting

I'll have my iPad, so lots of books. I just need somewhere to go. The Starbucks near are tiny and crowded with only hard wooden chairs at tiny tables. One further away has comfy seats, but they always have a line snaked around the store, so there isn't really room to sit in them. I always feel sorry for the employees there--tiny, tiny plaza store that does more volume than most big freestanding stores.

I guess I could go to WF in Alexandria, but it could take an hour to get there with traffic. I need to do grocery shopping anyway, but WF in a tight budget month is probably a bad idea, especially if they have the new Daiya products.

I just don't want to waste money eating crappy food to sit somewhere uncomfortable for a few hours.

Blah. I cant even come up with anything fun.

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 2:38 pm

Nailed to the V

Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2012 1:58 pmPosts: 565Location: pdx

I wish real life was like school in the way that someone could take away phones and yell TUNE IN TO YOUR LIFE.In 5th grade, my sister's teacher Mr. Perkins had a box labeled Mr. Perkins' Stuff full of everyone's pokemon cards.

_________________You know what would probably be a more effective ritual? Telling the person who you want to shut up, "You better not talk or we'll pound you." -Footface

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 3:04 pm

Cranky

Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2010 3:17 pmPosts: 1881Location: Indiana (again)

LW, is there a public library near you?

_________________No. No. fork life allatimes. - mumblesThat commercial didn't make me want to go out and buy Dove, but this thread did make me sniff my armpits. They smell like apricot. - designedtobekind

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 3:50 pm

Kitchens Planning Manchester

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 11:28 pmPosts: 2537Location: Connecticut

Where I work, I had to confiscate cell phones from second graders once. They weren't connected to any service but they were both fairly newish smartphones that the parents or whomever had upgraded from and let the kids play with for some reason. One of the parents was actually kind of confused that I took it away from her kid, since in her mind it was just a toy at that point, but I asked the director and it's what she told me to do!

and several students whispered, "I hope I don't have her next year!" (they are ninth graders and I teach tenth). Hearing that is so GRATIFYING. Because when the kids don't relish the idea of having you as a teacher, in a twisted way, you know you're doing something right. The troublemaker kids always want the teachers who won't let them get away with things. They thought I was a hardass! That is all I have wanted in my career. I want to be that hardass teacher that MAKES her hooligan kids work and who is hated while students are in her class but then loved later in life. That is what I want. I feel like I took an important step in that direction today. I can make this my reality!

YES! OMG, YES. Not highschool, but when I was in primary the school was tiny wee and all open plan. I started there in P2 and had the most wonderful glamourous kindly lady (she later left to become an air hostess, haha) teacher but all the while, it being open-plan, we could hear the SCARY SCARY AWFUL NIGHTMARE TEACHER yelling at people. Never wanted to be in her class! Ever! But the I got her for P3, P5, P6 and P7 (like I say, it was a small school, there were about 19 kids in my class and all the teachers swapped around every year). ANYHOO. Mrs McAndrew her name was and omg I still love her the mostest, she was the best teacher. And I bawled my eyes out when having to say goodbye to her at the end of P7 to go off to highschool. Man, I still think about her every so often and wonder what she's up to in her life.

_________________"I will take a drugged, sex-crazed, punk rock commie over Mrs. Thatch any day of the week" - Vantine

There's a shop in the Old Town area (near uni) called Piemaker (they mostly make hand pies). They have a few vegan pies, including 4 or 5 sweet pies (all labeled). Well, as I was walking home, I noticed that there was a big sign in the window of one of the unused shops saying that Piemaker was coming to that location! I'm super excited for this. I almost never go to Piemaker because I'm rarely in that part of town and in need of food. The new location is 5 minutes' walk from my flat. And considering that we're down near the shore and therefore surrounded by seafood restaurants, I'm very happy that we'll soon have another vegan option close by.

This is incredibly exciting news. I love their pies!

_________________Some woopiter from Jupiter then says, and I quote: "That can't be true because I read otherwise online. Just look on Youtube." - torque

Haha, Piemaker. I think of Piemaker like I think of that stupid baked potato shop - somewhere I went when bunking off school and had nothing better to do on the way to £2 matinees at the Cameo or Filmhouse.

_________________"I will take a drugged, sex-crazed, punk rock commie over Mrs. Thatch any day of the week" - Vantine

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 5:20 pm

Flat Chesty McNoBoobs

Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2010 11:41 amPosts: 9233Location: Portland

Sarah-Jane wrote:

allularpunk wrote:

Sarah-Jane wrote:

I am trying to cut my food budget in order to save money due to the whole unemployment thing but it turns out I really forking like food and this is hard.

I am in the same boat right now! I'll even make grocery lists that I think are reasonable (and STICK to them!), and then at checkout I'm like, 'Whoa, $43?! How did that happen?' (And yes, I always check my receipts to make sure they're right.) Food is too good. I'm cutting my cute dresses budget instead.

Exactly. I think it is because I cook recipes instead of just buying cheap stuff but I am not good at looking at food and seeing a meal. If I buy random cheap stuff I will get so frustrated that I will buy takeout rather than try and make something.

Boyfriend and I are in this boat as well. We both race bikes, so we eat a truly startling amount of food for two people, and it's only getting worse as race season ramps up. I foresee lots of rice and beans in our future.

_________________These shitbirds should pay for their own elections if they aren't going to be obligated by any democratic pretense. - MumblesDon't you know that vegan meat is the gateway drug to chicken addiction? Because GMO and trans-fats. - kaerlighed